Lucky Jim’s good fortune ran out last weekend in the Maple Leaf Trot. Trainer Julie Miller hopes two of her young trotting fillies enjoy better fates in Thursday’s Merrie Annabelle elimination races at the Meadowlands Racetrack
.
The top older trotter so far this year, Lucky Jim saw his 15-race win streak come to an end with a third-place finish behind San Pail and Arch Madness in the $662,860 Maple Leaf Trot at Mohawk Racetrack on July 25. Lucky Jim raced on the outside for much of the mile and encountered traffic trouble along the way. He went off stride near the finish line, but it did not affect his placing.
“He kind of had a roadblock there and it carried us wide in the turn,” Miller said. “We just lost so much ground. He was flying home and just made a break because he was trying so hard to get there. It’s very disappointing. I don’t mind getting beat, but it was hard the way it happened. I think he could have been there. I think he could have been right there.”
Lucky Jim returned from Canada to New Jersey on Sunday. His next start will be in the Nat Ray on August 8 at the Meadowlands Racetrack.
“He’s super,” Miller said. “He got home and was resting comfortably. He’s just fine. He’ll be ready for the Nat Ray.”
On Thursday, Miller will send two-year-olds IPO Blue Chip and Nannina into the Merrie Annabelle elims at the Meadowlands. The top three finishers from each of the three eliminations, along with one fourth-place finisher, will advance to the $475,000 final on August 8.
IPO Blue Chip has gone off stride in two of her three starts, but posted the fastest win time so far this season for a two-year-old filly in the race in which she stayed trotting, stopping the clock in 1:56.4. The Yankee Glide daughter is the first foal out of the mare Paloma Hanover and was purchased for $27,000 as a yearling.
“She’s a little on the small size,” Miller said. “She’s really green and inexperienced, which sometimes makes her break. She might see things that aren’t there. That’s what happened to her in the (New Jersey Sire Stakes) finals. She got crowded in there and just jumped it off. She’s nice, but everything is still new to her.”
Nannina is winless in two starts. She was fourth, beaten by two lengths, in her most recent race on July 23. She led much of the way.
“I was disappointed in that start because she didn’t finish to the wire and usually there’s always more in the tank with her,” Miller said. “It turned out she was a little sick. We have high hopes for her. She’s a nice big filly with a great gait. She’s really shown a lot of talent. Hopefully, she’ll be ready for the Merrie Annabelle.”
Nannina (Valley Victor-Nannina Ambrosio) was purchased for $37,000 as a yearling.
Leading the way in the opening elim is Cantab It All, who is three-for-three this year for trainer Jimmy Takter. She is a full sister to Even Better Odds, who won a division of the Bluegrass Stakes last season and is a multiple winner on the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes circuit. Cantab It All won a division of the Historic-Acorn Stakes on July 1 at the Meadowlands. Fortunes Dream, trained by Anette Lorentzon, is two-for-two this season, including a victory in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes.
Takter-trainee Costa Rica, who won the New Jersey Sire Stakes championship on July 23 at the Meadowlands, is among the fillies in the second Merrie Annabelle elim. She is the first foal out of the mare Examination, who is a half-sister to millionaire Rotation. Behindclosedoors, trained by Chuck Sylvester, won a division of the Acorn and a leg of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes. Fashion Feline, trained by Jim Campbell, has wins in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes and a division of the Reynolds Stakes, along with the elim’s fastest win time (1:57.1). Secret Magic, trained by Ron Gurfein, also won an Acorn division.
New Jersey Sire Stakes final runner-up Lindys Two Step, trained by Linda Toscano, is among the fillies in the third group. Lorentzon’s Croquet Style has the elim’s fastest mark (1:57.4), which she established in a preliminary leg of the New Jersey Sire Stakes. Bone A Fide, trained by Ron Burke, has a win in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes and was second in an Acorn division.
To view Thursday's harness racing entries, click here.
(Harness Racing Communications)